Shinjitsu No Kyūden
The Shinjitsu No Kyūden (Palace of Truth) is a building located on Mareoshima Isle, and became the heart of Mareoshima itself once the city was constructed. Built by the Elders before they embraced the power of Psionics, the Shinjitsu No Kyūden housed the Elders' best warriors and trained their young in the ways of physical combat. As this was before their shift to Psionic powers, the palace holds very little knowledge on the energy housed in the mind. A group of Ponies left on Mareoshima by the Ancients took refuge in the building following the Endeavour Outbreak, and as time went on they slowly evolved into humanoids. From then on, though retaining Pony DNA, the inhabitants of the dojo were mistakable for Humans. They trained their future generations to be Samurai and Ninja as a means of keeping a hold on their ancestry and preparing themselves for potential threats. The inhabitants severed all ties with the mainland, warding off those who attempt to explore the island with their connection to the Spirits. They were described as monsters by the Ponies who attempted to find out the truth. As time went on, Tomoe Gozen gave birth to Oda Gozen and he was raised in the Shinjitsu No Kyūden as a hybrid between the Samurai and Ninja known as a Master. There, he met a young girl named Asuka Tametomo with whom he fell in love, which was encouraged by the dojo's teachers but frowned upon their fellow students. The two ended up having a child, Kenji Gozen. The palace tests their Masters in a brutal way; a duel to the death. Two potential Masters will fight until one kills the other, with no interruptions or intrusions. Asuka was pitted against Honda Masamune, an infamously talented Master-in-training, and upon her loss (and subsequent death at Honda's hands) Oda challenged Honda directly. Unlike other students, Oda had access to the Shimada and against his better judgement, released the power of the Spirit Realm against Honda. When Honda's entire body was stripped of skin and muscle, his skeleton fell to the floor as Oda stood before a silent crowd, performing the Warrior's Salute over Asuka's body. To his surprise, he was not cast from the dojo as he had suspected. He was told that a Shimada was a powerful ally, and he should be proud that he could command it and even more so that it would obey. When the Dimensional War began, Mareoshima Isle assisted the Midnight and XCOM in defending Equestria and upon their success, the islanders founded the city of Mareoshima of which Oda became Emperor. The Shinjitsu No Kyūden became the heart of the city and the new home of the Emperor and his son. Following the Last Lights, the temple was left strangely unharmed yet nobody dares enter it. It's said that a strange, ghostly wolf protects it from intruders. Those who have ventured close have reported hearing what sounds like voices talking in Japanese, having normal conversations or praying to the Spirits.